How do I...?

Oregon Trivia: Oregon Movies

Source Note
Most of the following information is derived from the Internet Movie Database. The Oregon Blue Book does not attempt to verify the accuracy of this information.

Nearly all of the high school students in Oregon director Gus Van Sant's dark 2003 film "Elephant" were non-actors and used their real first names. Much of the movie, which was filmed around Portland, was improvised.

Paul Newman broke his ankle rehearsing the motorcycle race sequence for "Sometimes a Great Notion," causing a delay of weeks. The film was based on a book written by Notable Oregonian Ken Kesey. It was the first film ever shown on HBO when the service premiered in 1972.

While filming on location around Bend and Grants Pass, the technical crew of the movie "Rooster Cogburn" wore printed t-shirts that read "We love Brother John" on the front and "...and Sister Kate, too!" on the back. John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn were much amused.

Actress Kim Novak, who lives in southern Oregon, was the the No. 1 box office star in America in the mid-1950s. Among numerous films, she played two roles in the acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Vertigo" in 1958.

Keanu Reeves (left) learned to surf for his role with Patrick Swayze in the film "Point Break," which was partly filmed on the Oregon coast. He liked it so much that he continues to surf long after the film. His part as Johnny Utah was offered first to Matthew Broderick.

The little girl who belches loudly during the dinner scene of the film "Bandits" is Bruce Willis' daughter, Scout. The other girl in the scene is another one of Willis' daughters, Tallulah. The movie was shot around Salem and Wilsonville.

An old cold storage building that was part of an abandoned fruit cannery in Gresham was used for the construction of props for the Richard Dreyfuss movie "Mr. Holland's Opus," which was filmed around Portland.

The boisterous movie "Animal House" with John Belushi (above) was set to be filmed at the University of Missouri until the president of the school read the script and refused permission. It was filmed around the University of Oregon instead.

Rob Reiner, who directed the film "Stand By Me," insisted that the cigarettes smoked by the boys in the movie were to be made from cabbage leaves. Reiner, an avid non-smoker, fought for anti-smoking laws in California. The movie was filmed in the Willamette Valley.

Brilliant but notoriously exacting director Stanley Kubrick demanded 127 takes from actress Shelley Duvall in one scene of "The Shining." The movie was partly filmed at Timberline Lodge.

Former Oregon Governor Tom McCall (above) and Dr. Dean R. Brooks, superintendent of the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, had their film debuts in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." The movie was based on a Ken Kesey novel and much of it was filmed at the State Hospital.

Craggy-faced character actor Jack Elam, a southern Oregon resident until his death in 2003, had parts in over 200 movies and TV episodes in a remarkable career spanning more than 50 years. Often playing a villian, Elam's film credits included "Rio Lobo" and "Cat Ballou."